Couple convicted of manslaughter after death of newborn baby

A couple have been convicted of manslaughter after their newborn baby died while they lived in a tent in freezing conditions to evade social services.

Constance Marten, 38, and Mark Gordon, 50, have been found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter of their baby girl, Victoria, who was found decomposing in a shopping bag in a disused Brighton shed.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) sought a re-trial at the Old Bailey after a jury in 2024 could not reach a verdict on whether the pair were guilty of manslaughter.

To prove Marten and Gordon’s guilt beyond doubt, the CPS used fresh evidence from prosecution experts to explain the conditions and extreme high-risk baby Victoria was exposed to by her parents. This included analysis of the weather data at the time, with temperatures close to freezing, and the effect of wind and wet clothing.

Armed with this additional evidence, prosecutors were able to show the jury how a combination of condensation in the tent and damp clothing and sleeping bags would have exposed baby Victoria to substantial climatic cold stress, leading to a high risk of hypothermia.

Marten and Gordon had already been found guilty of concealing the birth of a child, cruelty to a child and perverting the course of justice following a three-month trial last year.

Samantha Yelland, Crown Prosecution Service London Senior Crown Prosecutor, said: “It is shocking that parents could subject their newborn baby to such obvious risks and today a jury has convicted Constance Marten and Mark Gordon for their crimes – after the prosecution brought fresh evidence to prove their guilt.

“Their reckless actions were driven by a selfish desire to keep their baby no matter the cost – resulting in her tragic death.

“These defendants did everything they could to evade the authorities – from avoiding the use of their bank cards to the point that they were starving, ditching their phones to avoid being traced and travelling hundreds of miles daily from place to place to dodge the police.

“The prosecution case included CCTV evidence, witness testimony of the couples’ whereabouts together with a combination of pathological and medical evidence which showed the extent of their neglect.”

The couple had been in a relationship together since 2016 and went on the run when Marten was heavily pregnant with their fifth child in late December 2022. Authorities had previously taken four of their children into care following concerns for the wellbeing of each child, which included previous warnings about wholly unsuitable living conditions for a baby in a tent.

Marten secretly gave birth and police were first alerted to the existence of a baby when a placenta was found wrapped in a towel in a car seen burning on the M61 motorway near Greater Manchester on 5 January 2023. The couple fled the scene, and a national media appeal was launched to find them and the baby.

An investigation into their movements found that the pair had taken numerous taxis around the country and loitered around different ports in a bid to get out of the UK.

They later made their way to East Sussex and settled in the South Downs National Park with few possessions or food in freezing conditions with the newborn baby from 8 January 2023 onward.

It is not known exactly when the baby was born, or when she died. It is believed the newborn was alive for some weeks and was forced to endure the cold outdoor conditions.

At no stage did Marten or Gordon seek help for themselves or their baby.

When spotted by witnesses and on CCTV footage, the baby was seen only in a baby grow and without adequate winter clothing for the cold outdoors. The infant was not wearing any socks, a hat or even a blanket.

Marten and Gordon were arrested in Brighton on 27 February 2023 having been sleeping rough for nearly two months. They did not answer any questions about their baby until its body was found two days later.

Jaswant Narwal, Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: “We were determined to seek justice for baby Victoria and honour her tragically short life.

“Marten and Gordon have shown little remorse for their actions, using different antics to frustrate and delay court proceedings. These were challenging trials.

“No child should have had its life cut short in this preventable way. I hope these convictions provide a sense of justice and comfort to all those affected by this tragic case.”